Feudalism

Requires

Leads to

Enables

Notes

In the unsettled times following the collapse of Charlemagne's Frankish empire, a new social and political system arose in Europe called
feudalism. Derived from the concept of monarchy, feudalism was a hierarchical system in which each descending stratum owed allegiance to
those above. The king, whose authority was second only to God, granted tracts of land, or fiefs, to his barons. The barons might then grant
smaller estates to knights, who swore to protect and serve the baron. The knights, in turn, might then grant fractions of their fiefs to
subordinates who would serve the knights. At the bottom of the feudal pyramid were the serfs, who could not own land, and acted essentially
as slave laborers who worked the land for their masters. Feudalism began to decline in the 13th century, when standing armies and
mercenaries began to fulfill the protective role once served by the vassals and knights.